That’s right, I said in the corn feeder, not under. No, under the corn feeder when we pulled up was a tall, leggy blonde boar hog that galloped off into the palmettos. We were down in Sarasota filling feeders before an evening pig hunt – details of that Slay-Fest forthcoming – when Travis lifted the lid off one of the big barreled spinners and yelled for me to bring my camera.

Well, here’s what we found…

Flying Squirrel!!!!

I can only think of two other times in my life I’d seen flying squirrels in the wild. Once as a teen at my folks’ home in South Lakeland, a pair gliding from pine to pine. The other, a flock – or herd or gaggle? – of five or six jumping between rotten oak trunks as I walked from my treestand at dusk from a creek bottom in Western Georgia.

But this is as close as I’d ever been to one – quite certain it’s as close as most people will ever get to these handsome, diminutive nocturnal creatures.

And while he was just an adorable little guy that you’d like to carry around in your pocket and feed Chex Mix to, he was not really happy with our intrusion; honestly, I’d be irate, too, had I just been interrupted from an All-You-Can-Eat buffet. I’m sure he climbed in through the loose-fitting lid and just as certain he could find his way back out, but Travis used a palm branch to scoop him up.

That squirrel would strike the stick with all four paws and his tiny, razor-sharp teeth, like a cat on its back attacking your hands and forearms.

Anyway, T finally freed him, and the squirrel scampered up the nearest palm, seemingly no worse for wear.

I tried to get one last picture of him before he vanished.

So that was an interesting side note to this hunt.

That feeder has always been popular with the hogs, and now I have a theory why and an idea for the ultimate swine attractant – flying squirrel urine.

About This Blog

Ian Nance is a lifelong resident of Central Florida with a passion for hunting and just about anything related. Mossy Oak Regional ProStaffer and author of The Wild Life. Check back for hunting stories, news, tips, and wild game recipes. Feel free to leave comments or e-mail topics you would like to see addressed here. Contact at inance880@aol.com or follow on Twitter @good_hunt